I think this would be amazing for the Warrior Forum

[LMC]

Hello Warriors,

I fell into the black hole of buying domain names this morning and purchased 40 or so... and got interested in learning more about how to become a domain registrant.

The reason to become a domain registrant is that your domain names would be cheaper, like $6.00 cheaper.

So, I did some research, and at this point I have found that it only cost a fee of $4,000 to become a domain registrant, but then there are ongoing fees for the purchase of a name...

If we all chip in $5.00, we can fund the money to give to Allen, to make the warrior forum a true domain registrant, and then maybe it could be a non-profit resource for warriors only, and we all can get very cheap domain names.

Obviously there are probably more logistics that I don't even know about, but it is just food for thought.

[Srikanth D]

LMC you sure think big!! Nice idea

to add on to it. The domain names should be sold at non-profit rates only to people who contributed $5 to it (did I just sound mean???)

[Ant West]

Nice idea, I've been looking at going into a domain registrant but $4,000 is way outta my league!, I'd be happy to Chip in way more then $5

[Teli]

That is what I call thinking BIG. Very cool idea to think of the Warrior Forum as an actual registrant. The question now becomes: Would Allen be interested in doing it? And $5 is definitely not unreasonable.

And no, heretowin, you did not sound mean. I can definitely see the benefit of limiting the discount to chip-inners and charging full rate to those who didn't.

[Mr McDonald]

Sounds interesting, will keep an eyeout for more details.

[LMC]

Hey,

Thanks guys... maybe the post will get some recognition and Allen will provide feedback.

[Dollface]

This sounds interesting... I'm all for helping out others, but I agree. If they don't chip in, they don't get the benefit!

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by LMC

Hello Warriors,

I fell into the black hole of buying domain names this morning and purchased 40 or so... and got interested in learning more about how to become a domain registrant.

The reason to become a domain registrant is that your domain names would be cheaper, like $6.00 cheaper.

So, I did some research, and at this point I have found that it only cost a fee of $4,000 to become a domain registrant, but then there are ongoing fees for the purchase of a name...

If we all chip in $5.00, we can fund the money to give to Allen, to make the warrior forum a true domain registrant, and then maybe it could be a non-profit resource for warriors only, and we all can get very cheap domain names.

Obviously there are probably more logistics that I don't even know about, but it is just food for thought.

Gee, don't you think people would be lining up to do this? You DO know that you need to control THE domain servers, right? You know about all the requirements by places like ICANN, etc, right? You know that it is based on a lottery, and THE current holder of the rights for .COM and .NET is network solutions, right?

Until 1999, there weren't even any other registrants because networksolutions REFUSED! They had to be sued!

So HOW could you become a REAL registrant, registering at REAL cost, or even simply with the licensing fee that ICANN charges, by paying $4000 when all the systems would likely cost more than that? BTW godaddy is charging $9.99/year for .coms, so you are saying $3.99. That is even lower than verisign old reseller plan which, ironically, used to be one of the lowest priced.

BTW $4000 isn't out of MY league. I'd be curious to hear how this even COULD work, much less does. Heck, verisign used to charge far more than that just to go a little deeper than most. One company charged that much just to resell their service at the highest level!(THEY were simply a network solutions reseller, etc...) You could sell at a higher price to someone else, and they could sell at a higher price to someone else, and THEY could only register domain names, and do things you added.

And how much of that $4000 goes to icann and the US government for vetting?(assuming you want to sell COM, NET, ORG, US, and possibly EDU) How much must be in a bond, etc? What staffing do you have to commit to?

BTW Cost to add name to your OWN domain? NOTHING!
Cost to add name within ICANNs domain? About $.20/year
Cost to add to .COM, which is verisigns/icanns domain? About $6.86/year(icann fees ALSO apply) And don't forget the .com redirecting fiasco that happened several years ago. Verisign had control of ALL the .COM/.NET names, EVEN ones that weren't registered!!

Opensrs affiliate "wholesale"? About $8.00/year(last I knew)
network solutions retail? About $9.00/year
Godaddy retail? About 9.99/year
opensrs NONaffiliate "wholesale"? About $10.00/year(last I knew)

Steve

[seobro]

Sounds like a plan Stan. Count me in!

[LMC]

Steve,

Like I said... its just food for thought, I don't know the logistics, just an idea, maybe someone knows the answers

[Tom Brite]

Originally Posted by seasoned

So HOW could you become a REAL registrant, registering at REAL cost, or even simply with the licensing fee that ICANN charges, by paying $4000 when all the systems would likely cost more than that? BTW godaddy is charging $9.99/year for .coms, so you are saying $3.99. That is even lower than verisign old reseller plan which, ironically, used to be one of the lowest priced.

Just incase you didn't realize godaddy actually pays just a monthly or yearly fee to another company (i forget the name) and has paid even more to change their section of the script so it is more personalized. They are nothing more than just an affiliate/reseller of domains for an even bigger company.

However being a resseller/affiliate of this bigger company does mean that you have to keep to their pricing guidelines and they are the ones that pay that $4000 or whatever and plus all other costs.

I highly doubt allen would want the stress of running a domain registration company ontop of whatever else he does as well as the forum. Especially seeing as there is no need for it and he wouldn't be making any profit but would still be costing him time.

Tom Brite

[John Taylor]

The simplest solution would be to set up as an eNom
reseller. The current pricing is..



$7.95 with a $1,595 set up fee.

So, just to break even you would need to sell 1,600
domains at $8.95

Or 160 people would need to pay $10 each to gain
access to the $7.95 members only registration fee

Of course there would be additional running costs
such as hosting etc.

Is it worth the hassle?

Are there enough people willing to invest $10?

John

[Eric Lorence]

Probably a waste of time and energy, who needs the hassle of dealing with ICANN and Network Solutions?

Anybody can be a domain reseller, and there are thousands- most loosing money. Or they do it to add value to their hosting business.

[admin]

I sold my interest in my hosting company and have no interest in anything related to hosting :-)

Would be nice but it would probably end up being another headache and if it generated 'any' customer service issues at all I'd definitely run from it screaming...

[Tom Brite]

Originally Posted by admin

I sold my interest in my hosting company and have no interest in anything related to hosting :-)

Would be nice but it would probably end up being another headache and if it generated 'any' customer service issues at all I'd definitely run from it screaming...

Great to hear from you and even better showing an interest in what is basicly earning you a nice income. Hat's off for that!

Tom Brite

[dorim]

I have a reseller account at Wild West Domains, but your idea is a good one LMC, I'll chip in!

[Tom Brite]

Originally Posted by dorim

I have a reseller account at Wild West Domains, but your idea is a good one LMC, I'll chip in!

Ahhh that was what it was called!

Wild West Domains is who hostgator use to sell domains through. Anyone can be a reseller with them for a fixed monthly fee. Plus they handle all the site etc for you.

Tom Brite

[dorim]

Originally Posted by Tom Brite

Ahhh that was what it was called!

Wild West Domains is who hostgator use to sell domains through. Anyone can be a reseller with them for a fixed monthly fee. Plus they handle all the site etc for you.

Tom Brite

Its a yearly fee at Wild West, not a monthly fee. Depending on the reseller plan you chose the yearly fee starts at $99, but now there is some special where you can get a basic reseller plan for $59 a year, but the buy rate on domains is higher.

[ReyRey]

Why not sign up for the eNom program as John suggested and make it a membership site.

ReyRey

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by Tom Brite

Just incase you didn't realize godaddy actually pays just a monthly or yearly fee to another company (i forget the name) and has paid even more to change their section of the script so it is more personalized. They are nothing more than just an affiliate/reseller of domains for an even bigger company.

However being a resseller/affiliate of this bigger company does mean that you have to keep to their pricing guidelines and they are the ones that pay that $4000 or whatever and plus all other costs.

I highly doubt allen would want the stress of running a domain registration company ontop of whatever else he does as well as the forum. Especially seeing as there is no need for it and he wouldn't be making any profit but would still be costing him time.

Tom Brite

That is exactly my point! EVERYONE, except verisign is a RESELLER for verisign if it is .COM/.NET. HECK, verisign LOST .org and .edu!

I STRONGLY suspect that godaddy basically makes NOTHING on domain names. It DOES allow them to offer some VERY expensive, and PROFITABLE, upsells though! Privacy, email, domains, etc.... And the traffic and notariety definitely helps.

ALLEN, by contrast, has given some things for FREE that he could have, and even has, charged for.

Steve

[seasoned]

Originally Posted by Tom Brite

Ahhh that was what it was called!

Wild West Domains is who hostgator use to sell domains through. Anyone can be a reseller with them for a fixed monthly fee. Plus they handle all the site etc for you.

Tom Brite

ACTUALLY, WWD is a reseller for GODADDY! You can't REALLY resell, per se, godaddys services, but you CAN do so with WWD.

Steve

[Paid Surveys]

just $4000? That's crazy money, I'm happy buying them one at a time.

[Harry Behrens]

Yeah I'm pretty suspicious that this is a lot more complicated that it sounds or *every* community would be doing this and you hear about it all the time.

Of course I could be totally wrong and my mind is open to the possibility

[Steven Carl Kelly]

Originally Posted by John Taylor

$7.95 with a $1,595 set up fee.

So, just to break even you would need to sell 1,600
domains at $8.95

Actually, if you went with the $6995 option you'd get $6995 in eNom points so you'd have to sell only 780 domains at $8.95 to break even.

[Tyrus Antas]

To save a couple bucks? Not worth the trouble.

Tyrus

[seasoned]

Allen is very right! I started selling domains in 1999, possibly before ANYONE here! I used OpenSRS, and made a mistake of telling a friend about it. I argued with a friend of his about how I COULD beat verisigns price. You see, almost NOBODY was selling domain names back then. He eventually went with me. Sadly, I was SO tied up in support of doing things they REALLY wanted, etc... and asking questions, and it never took off. I LATER found out about another company, but the interface was clunky, etc.... I THEN found out about WWD, and they had JUST come out with an API. I was probably one of the first on it. The guy there was helpful, but the POLITICS, YIKES! They originally wanted over $900 just to SHOW it to me! I finally decided to go with the normal WWD. Nice, simple to use, but there are still a LOT of things I don't like. Of course, my friends called ME for support. Even GOdADDY seems to be lacking.

OK, you got a TASTE of what allen was talking about. Here is the ICING! I am about to tell you something you would NEVER guess in a MILLION years!!!!!!!!!

A guy threatened to sue me because I wouldn't change the whois entry on one of his EXPIRED domains! The guy was a big contributer to the democrat party, and the site was geared towards gun ownership. He did NOT want to renew it, or anything of the sort, but wanted the whois entry to be changed. And he saved over $20/year by buying it through me, and had full access until it expired!

Still, if I could get where VERISIGN is for $4000, I would be HAPPY! Domain names and SSL certificates are EASY to create and manage, but software is written to point to a master domain, and has a list of C/As! If YOU aren't there, you might as well have NO ability to handle domain names at all.

BTW Just last month, through a comedy of errors, WWD didn't charge me, or really ask for the fees, so they took over my account. You would think they'd have a better way of handling it. I am STILL forwarding to their site, out of fairness to my old customers, though I get nothing. They tried to doublespeak me through a renewal but, when I asked very poited questions until I got an answer, I found that it would really be a new BLANK account. NO THANKS!

Steve

[Angela V. Edwards]

Originally Posted by Tom Brite

I highly doubt allen would want the stress of running a domain registration company ontop of whatever else he does as well as the forum. Especially seeing as there is no need for it and he wouldn't be making any profit but would still be costing him time.

Tom Brite

That's what I was thinking, too. It's a nice idea, but I don't think people realize how much work goes into keeping a busy forum like this running smoothly. The helpdesk is awesome, of course, but do all the people 'behind the scenes' really want to take something like this on?

[Angela V. Edwards]

Originally Posted by admin

I sold my interest in my hosting company and have no interest in anything related to hosting :-)

Would be nice but it would probably end up being another headache and if it generated 'any' customer service issues at all I'd definitely run from it screaming...

Are you saying that customer service is not all sunshine and butterflies, Allen??